The Tor network is widely known for the ability to let users communicate anonymously from around the world. It is quite popular and it made Facebook to announce its integration it to its ecosystem via a post on Notes.
Apparently, Facebook had a Tor address before which they introduced in 2014 so that people could browse on the site securely from Tor enabled browsers. Facebook has a reason for integrating Tor to its app since a “sizeable community of people has grown to use this feature and help us to make it more efficient and reliable.
This feature is currently only available over Facebook on Android, dubbed Facebook over Tor on Android. First, you need to head off to the Google Play Store and download Orbot: Proxy with Tor. You can also find Orbot on the F-Droid repository too if you are the adventourous type. After installing Orbot, you need to activate the feature which means going to your “App settings”menu and enable the switch that is indicated “Use Tor via Orbot.” It looks something like this.
Facebook indicated that the integration was due to a project initiated by an intern at Facebook which was taken by their Protect and Care team in London. This feature however is an experiment and it is quite a niche product by definition. The company also welcomes feed back to it so that they can make it better so if you are a person who uses encrypted networks frequently, this can be a welcome move by the company.
Currently, I’ve installed Orbot and checked on App Settings but I didn’t get the banner above but the company promises the feature will be released in the next few days.
